Hebrews 13:1-6
Notes
Transcript
Hebrews 13:1-6
Hebrews 13:1-6
Let brotherly love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body. Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous. Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So we can confidently say,
“The Lord is my helper;
I will not fear;
what can man do to me?”
Vs 1 “Let Brotherly Love Continue”
The relationships between believers should look different than relationships between unbelievers
Relationships between believers are rooted differently
We are sons and daughters of God
Which makes us brothers and sisters of each other
Relationships between believers are valued differently
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.
Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
This is the heading for all the rest of what we will see this morning
Everything else we talk about today will be an example of brotherly love
Vs 2 “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers”
The word translated hospitality is literally “Love of Stranger”
Cultural situation that the writer is writing into
Dangerous to travel (No Air B&B, Inns were not terribly safe places)
To open your home to a traveling stranger was a well respected virtue
Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.
Show hospitality to one another without grumbling.
Hospitality is even a requirement of elders in 1 Timothy
He says that some have entertained Angels unaware, recalling back to Abraham in Genesis 18, Gideon in Judges 6, and Manoah in Judges 13
We are called as believers to be open handed with our homes, and our lives
Not something we as Americans are good at
“I don’t mind dealing with people, but its on my terms”
When our homes are our castles, we see them as places where we retreat from others
But everything you have, from your home, to your car, to the breath in your lungs, is a gift given to you from the Lord for the purpose of His will
Kid who says “My room, or my toy”
Nothing is yours, everything you have is mine
Why should we be open handed with our homes and lives? Because ultimately we don’t have homes and lives, we only steward what we have been given by Him
Vs 3 “Remember those who are in prison”
Here we see the same connection found between believers in verse 1
He says remember those in prison, as though in prison with them
And those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body
The Cohesiveness of the body is such that what happens to one should be experienced by all
If you haven’t been downstairs, or maybe you have but you don’t pay attention to the resource table
We keep copies of two different newsletters “Voice of the Martyrs” that tell stories of brothers and sisters who are suffering as they spread the Gospel
We put those out in hopes that you will see them and take them home, and take time to hear their stories and be fervent in prayer for them
Every November, we hold a special service for the persecuted Church, and seek to inform you about what other brothers and sisters are going through
But we can’t limit this important task to one week a year. That’s why we give you resources throughout the year
“I will pray for you” cannot be a platitude that we say and don’t do
We must regularly remember and intercede for those suffering and mistreated
Vs 4 “Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled”
Hold on, I thought you said that all of these were examples of brotherly love
It is.
Marriage and the sanctity thereof is not an individual mandate, but a corporate one
Do you know why you invite people to your wedding?
Why you say your vows in front of all those people?
Because they are witnesses to your vows, and are supposed to hold you to them
There used to be three affirmations at a wedding
Do you Husband...
Do you wife...
Do you congregation affirm, respect this couples vows...
Husbands and wives, if you are sinning against each other
Verbally or physically
That’s not between you and your spouse
Thats an affront to all of us
Husbands and wives, if you aren’t honoring the marriage bed
whether by pornography, adultery, extra marital or pre marital affairs
That’s not between you and your spouse
That’s an affront to all of us
When marriage is held in honor, and respected for the God given institution that it is,
There is no adultery.
There is no sexual immorality
Because its held among all
Both those in the marriage, and those outside of it
And Christians, we have much to do to recover the honor of marriage
Vs 5 “Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have”
Here we have the same open handedness that is required of our homes and lives in verse 2
Don’t fall for the love of money
Be content with what you have
Now how does this relate to brotherly love?
Because no one who loves money, or is discontent and wants more is ever generous
The number in your bank account is no more yours than your house is
Or the breath in your lungs
Its all His
And look at the reasoning the writer gives for why we shouldn’t love money
“For he has said I will never leave you nor forsake you”
Vs 6
“The Lord is my helper what can man do to me?”
The love of money causes us to rely on that money
I once worked for a man who was a super generous guy
Regular raises, spot awards for good work
Big parties at Christmas time, gave away all kinds of stuff
Then the economic downturn came
And He lost alot in the stock market drop
And when that happened, that generosity was gone
And suddenly nobody gets a raise, at all
Everything is cancelled, no party, no thank you
See out of the abundance he had, he was more than willing to give
But when that generosity would have cost him his way of living, he chose his way of living
See we like to think this is about amounts
I can’t have a love of money, I’m broke
Some of the most money loving people I have ever met were the ones who didn’t have it
It’s not about amount. Its about attitude
Is what you have for you and your desires?
Or is what you have for the advancement of the Gospel and the love of others?
We cannot be open handed with what God has given us to steward if we make the mistake to think that we depend on that gift and not on God
Conclusion
Conclusion
It is our dependence on God that allows us to love brothers and sisters as we are called to do in this passage
To be open handed with our money, our homes, our lives
To be intentional to remember those who are in prison and mistreated
To hold marriage in honor and keep it pure
All of these require that we depend on the Lord to supply us with the strength, resources, and grace that only He can give
The Holy Spirit equips us to be able to live out this kind of brotherly love that is culturally odd
We have been called to live lives that honor Christ by honoring each other